Parshas Vayechi 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Jan 1
- 2 min read
ואתם חשבתם עלי רעה אלקים חשבה לטבה ... (נ-כ)
MASHAL: One year the great halachic authority, R’ Chaim Ozer Grodzensky zt”l, fell ill. Doctors felt that in order to properly recuperate, it was imperative that he go to the springs in Carlsbad. To his dismay, he was forced to remain through the Yamim Noraim, far from his vibrant community in Vilna. Distressed by the isolation, he struggled to understand why he was stuck in a place nearly devoid of Jewish life.
On Shabbos Shuvah, the Shabbos between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, R’ Chaim Ozer met a traveler from America. During the course of the conversation the man mentioned that his brother had recently passed away, leaving a widow and three children, and he intended to marry her to provide for them. R’ Chaim Ozer was shocked; marrying a brother’s widow who already has children is a severe Torah prohibition. He desperately tried to warn the man, but the traveler remained unconvinced. Finally, R’ Chaim Ozer asked, “Is there any rabbi you are willing to listen to?”
The man laughed and replied, “Only the great Rav of Vilna, Rabbi Grodzensky. If he tells me it it forbidden, I would listen.” R’ Chaim Ozer immediately revealed his identity.
The man stood there in shock. Eventually he accepted the ruling and promised the Rav that he would abide by whatever the halacha states. At that moment R’ Chaim Ozer realized why Divine Providence had kept him in Carlsbad: to save a fellow Jew from a spiritual catastrophe!
NIMSHAL: Yosef Hatzaddik had a message for his brothers: Hashem places us exactly where we need to be. Nothing that happens to a person is without divine providence. So even if one feels stifled by the current events of his life, Yosef’s message can guide one through.